none of this was mentioned in the guide...I've been using winmfs, which is very easy of course....but the .bak image is not compatible with winmfs, of course.

I will go through the guide again - thanks for your patience! Sorry, i'm just not getting it...all I got was error msgs when trying the above commands...doesn't exist etc..

Okay, let's see if I've got this straight.

You've got a TCD230040 and the original hard drive from it is missing or broken or the bits on it are scrambled or something.

You've got a winrar file of an MFS backup image for that model.

You've restored that image file to a FAT32 partition.

You want to use that image file to go onto an 80GB drive which you will then use in your TiVo.

You've got the FAT32 drive hooked up as the primary (or master) drive on the first (or perhaps only) IDE controller.

That makes it /dev/hda, and the partition on it /dev/hda1

You're attaching the 80GB drive (that's eventually going into the TiVo) via a USB adapter.

That makes it /dev/sda unless you have another drive attached by USB or a SATA port on the motherboard, in which case it would be /dev/sdb

Since you mention sdb we'll go with that.

Let's pretend your image file is "230040.bak"

The existance of that image file means someone else has already run the "backup" command, so all we have to worry about is "restore".

Boot from the MFS Live cd.

It creates a directory called "dos". We'll use that, since it's empty.

First mount the source partition with the backup image file to a directory/mount point

mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /dos

The -t tells the mount command that what comes next (in this case vfat--virtual file allocation table--, or FAT32) is the type of file system used by the device being mounted.

/dev/hda1 is the device (particular partition on a particular drive) being mounted.

/dos is the directory/mount point where it's being mounted.

Now that it's mounted, it's accessible, so we proceed to restore the image file to the new drive

restore -s 64 -xpi /dos/230040.bak /dev/sdb

The -s says the number to follow is the size in MB to make the swap partition. You could use a bigger number.

The -x switch says to expand (i.e., add MFS partition pairs to fill the drive) after doing the restore. This can be ommitted until after the restore is done and tested in the TiVo and then done via the mfsadd command.

The -p switch says to use the Series 2 partition layout (instead of the original Series 1 layout).

The -i says that the next thing is where the restore command finds its input, in this case the .bak file.

Finally, you specify the target of the command, in this case the drive the OS and command see as /dev/sdb.

After the restore command runs, you can use pdisk -l to see the TiVo partitions that have been created, however you may need to reboot for mfsinfo not to deliver an error message. I think it has something to do with initializing the new partition table or something like that, but I could be wildly mistaken.

I'm looking to upgrade our bedroom HDTivo from the original 160GB drive. Its just too small.

What do you guys think about a Seagate ST3500414CS (500GB) for only $33? That is from an Ebay seller who claims the drives are new OEM drives and guarantees them out of the box for 30 days.

I know, 1TB is so standard (and cheap) these days, but that 500GB Seagate is one of the quietest drives ever tested and in our bedroom, that is important.

I guess its either that Seagate, or one of the 1TB WD Green drives. I just don't know if I can justify doubling the price since we really don't use the bedroom Tivo near as much.

To follow up...
I did end up getting the ST3500414CS. The seller ended up lowering the price to $32 shipped. I installed it today and it is indeed a very quiet drive. It should be...its only a single platter, spinning at 5900rpm! Perfect for a bedroom unit. The seller seems to get these in batches. He is sold out now, but may offer them again. I found it by searching for the drive model in descriptions.

To follow up...
I did end up getting the ST3500414CS. The seller ended up lowering the price to $32 shipped. I installed it today and it is indeed a very quiet drive. It should be...its only a single platter, spinning at 5900rpm! Perfect for a bedroom unit.

Good for you. Excellent post, BTW. This really illustrates how the specific application can affect the decision of what path to take. In general, 1T drives are preferable both from a space and cost per bit perspective, but the fact the unit is to sit in a bedroom makes the sound factor more important than a few cents per Gig cost difference or a factor of 2 in space. 500G is a little on the low side, but acceptable for many applications, and the lack of noise makes it the better choice.

Good for you. Excellent post, BTW. This really illustrates how the specific application can affect the decision of what path to take. In general, 1T drives are preferable both from a space and cost per bit perspective, but the fact the unit is to sit in a bedroom makes the sound factor more important than a few cents per Gig cost difference or a factor of 2 in space. 500G is a little on the low side, but acceptable for many applications, and the lack of noise makes it the better choice.

I'm beginning to think the way to go is to get a big ol' huge drive and put it in a computer running Tivo Desktop and store your shows that way instead of on the TiVo drive where they can suddenly be unavalible if the TiVo hiccups (which they do more often than they really should), whereas a computer problem is easier to diagnose, fix, and do data recovery if necessary.

500G is a little on the low side, but acceptable for many applications, and the lack of noise makes it the better choice.

Well, it is still 3 times larger than the original 160GB drive. For our bedroom unit, it is mostly for recording a few shows for the kids and my wife likes to watch her girly shows back there (housewives, Idol, dancing, etc). She also has an addiction for watching shows like Dateline and 48 Hours Mystery. Those shows are sometimes 2 hours and they can quickly build up.

Haven't posted here in awhile so please pardon me if I sound more ignorant that usual. I have on the way a Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA External Hard Drive. I reviewed bkdtv's FAQ and it appears that I can attach the WD drive to my S3 by simply making the eSATA connection. Does anyone have any additional advice on the subject? By the way, when the FAQ was last updated it showed that a drive such as the one I got cost $180. Now, though, Amazon has it for less than $120.

Haven't posted here in awhile so please pardon me if I sound more ignorant that usual. I have on the way a Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA External Hard Drive. I reviewed bkdtv's FAQ and it appears that I can attach the WD drive to my S3 by simply making the eSATA connection. Does anyone have any additional advice on the subject? By the way, when the FAQ was last updated it showed that a drive such as the one I got cost $180. Now, though, Amazon has it for less than $120.

As long as you have the original hard drive in your Series3 you should be able to connect it and be good as gold. Just be sure to follow the steps...

1. Unplug TiVo
2. Power up your new eSATA drive
3. Connect the eSATA cable to your new drive and TiVo (be sure the eSATA connections are snug at both ends)
4. Plug TiVo back in and follow the menu prompts

As long as you have the original hard drive in your Series3 you should be able to connect it and be good as gold. Just be sure to follow the steps...

1. Unplug TiVo
2. Power up your new eSATA drive
3. Connect the eSATA cable to your new drive and TiVo (be sure the eSATA connections are snug at both ends)
4. Plug TiVo back in and follow the menu prompts

Prices have indeed come down since those drives were first released.

Enjoy!

Gotcha, thanks a million! I should receive the drive from Amazon sometime later this week and will report how installing the drive went.

PS: I see you are an old S1 guy, me, too. I bought my S1 in 2000 and didn't retire it until my cable company finally started offering an HD DVR. I replaced the cable company's DVR with my S3 shortly after TiVo introduced it.

just a datapoint. having done some upgrades to my PC, i had a spare Western Digital Green 640GB drive, WD6400AACS-00G8B1, manufactured in 2009. Decided to give it a whirl doing an internal drive upgrade on my TivoHD.

No issues. After first power up boot, i did a standby/reset reboot, came up fine, no hang on welcome screen.

A nice midrange upgrade option without the idle bug - and with the added benefit of burning a few watts less than many other drives, and very quiet.

just wanted to add - in the section of the guide discussing the Western Digital green drives, it states:

"This issue affects all recently manufactured Western Digital EADS, EARS, and EAVS drives. It also affects EVVS drives manufactured after September 18 and EVDS drives manufactured since November. Drives built prior to these dates work perfectly fine; they do not exhibit the issue. The manufacture date is printed on the top of every drive."

this was a little confusing - as the guide at the top states that it was last updated august of 2010 - so, do 'september 18' and 'november' refer to 2009? it would be helpful to include the year referenced within the guide.

that said, i want to publicly say THANK YOU to user bkdtv for an outstanding, clearly written, very well researched guide. it's a work of art, really, and a hell of a public service.

I have a Series 2 (TCD24004A) that I upgraded soon after getting it with a second hard drive (in addition to the original)...but it has been many years (obviously) and my wife thinks it is time to replace the hard drive before they fail (my father in law's series 2 original hard drive failed recently). I had been looking for big IDE drives, but reading here has convinced me that a couple SATA drives with adapters would be cheaper (and planning to move all programs etc. from the two drives to the two new drives). So I am looking at 2 1TB WD10EARS drives on amazon in addition to the SATA adapters from weaknees.
I tried to find reasons why this will or will not work, but did not find any...any suggestion? I had also considered moving all of my recordings from the tivo to another or to a PC and then going back to one drive...but that sounds more painful than it is worth...and with this plan I can have a fairly inexpensive 2 TB Series 2!
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
Matt
P.S. now I found this drive on amazon...looks like the same thing but specifically for DVRs?

Last edited by mmoustakas : 03-06-2011 at 07:32 PM.
Reason: Updated with links and PS

I have a Series 2 (TCD24004A) that I upgraded soon after getting it with a second hard drive (in addition to the original)...but it has been many years (obviously) and my wife thinks it is time to replace the hard drive before they fail (my father in law's series 2 original hard drive failed recently). I had been looking for big IDE drives, but reading here has convinced me that a couple SATA drives with adapters would be cheaper (and planning to move all programs etc. from the two drives to the two new drives). So I am looking at 2 1TB WD10EARS drives on amazon in addition to the SATA adapters from weaknees.
I tried to find reasons why this will or will not work, but did not find any...any suggestion? I had also considered moving all of my recordings from the tivo to another or to a PC and then going back to one drive...but that sounds more painful than it is worth...and with this plan I can have a fairly inexpensive 2 TB Series 2!
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
Matt
P.S. now I found this drive on amazon...looks like the same thing but specifically for DVRs?

I have a Series 2 (TCD24004A) that I upgraded soon after getting it with a second hard drive (in addition to the original)...but it has been many years (obviously) and my wife thinks it is time to replace the hard drive before they fail (my father in law's series 2 original hard drive failed recently). I had been looking for big IDE drives, but reading here has convinced me that a couple SATA drives with adapters would be cheaper (and planning to move all programs etc. from the two drives to the two new drives). So I am looking at 2 1TB WD10EARS drives on amazon[/url] in addition to the SATA adapters from weaknees.
I tried to find reasons why this will or will not work, but did not find any...any suggestion? I had also considered moving all of my recordings from the tivo to another or to a PC and then going back to one drive...but that sounds more painful than it is worth...and with this plan I can have a fairly inexpensive 2 TB Series 2! :D
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
Matt

You'll be much better off GB per dollar wise with SATA drives, even with that added cost of the adapters.

If you already have your TiVo hooked into your home network some way, you can move the recordings (copy them, actually) to another TiVo on the same account (Tivo calls it transferring, but the original is left intact) via Multi-Room Viewing, or you can use Tivo Desktop to copy them to a computer, and then copy them back onto your new bigger hard drive(s).

If you copy to another Tivo and then back to the first TiVo, you lose some of the attached information, including the time and date originally recorded. Everything will be marked as having been recorded when you transferred to the second TiVo.

If you use TiVo Desktop to copy to the computer and then back, the info on the original date and time and the other stuff remains with the recording.

It ain't fast, but it's fairly simple.

Considering the way TiVo problems tend to leave your recordings difficult if not impossible to recover, you might want to think about putting one big drive in your TiVo, and another big one in the computer (you aren't limited to 1TB drives, you could look for a deal on a 1.5 or 2TB), and backup religiously from TiVo to computer (TiVo Desktop has some autotransfer function I haven't tried yet for saving a series).

I will likely get a premier when I actually get a HD TV...till then I have lifetime on my series 2 and am happy with that (I am in no hurry get HD...I still have a series 2...that should be a clue about my tendancy to upgrade!)

I have everything networked, so transferring was an option, but I am not terribly excited about the process as it will take forever to transfer all those shows to a fro via the wireless network.

So what about the specific drive I was looking at...WD10EARS...any experience with these versus the green power A/V specific drives (I think the link I posted in my P.S. above is for a WD10EURS, but it is not clear from Amazon)? And two of them in the series 2?

I have a Series 2 (TCD24004A) that I upgraded soon after getting it with a second hard drive (in addition to the original)...but it has been many years (obviously) and my wife thinks it is time to replace the hard drive before they fail (my father in law's series 2 original hard drive failed recently). I had been looking for big IDE drives, but reading here has convinced me that a couple SATA drives with adapters would be cheaper (and planning to move all programs etc. from the two drives to the two new drives). So I am looking at 2 1TB WD10EARS drives on amazon in addition to the SATA adapters from weaknees.
I tried to find reasons why this will or will not work, but did not find any...any suggestion? I had also considered moving all of my recordings from the tivo to another or to a PC and then going back to one drive...but that sounds more painful than it is worth...and with this plan I can have a fairly inexpensive 2 TB Series 2! :D
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
Matt
P.S. now I found this drive on amazon...looks like the same thing but specifically for DVRs?

Since Amazon didn't see fit to actually list a model number, who knows what you'd get.

PS: I see you are an old S1 guy, me, too. I bought my S1 in 2000 and didn't retire it until my cable company finally started offering an HD DVR. I replaced the cable company's DVR with my S3 shortly after TiVo introduced it.

I fired up our Series1 a little while back...still rock solid! For my money the Series3 is still a TiVo pinnacle.

So what about the specific drive I was looking at...WD10EARS...any experience with these versus the green power A/V specific drives (I think the link I posted in my P.S. above is for a WD10EURS, but it is not clear from Amazon)? And two of them in the series 2?

Thanks!
Matt

For TiVo the WD10EARS will perform the same as the WD10EURS (or any other A/V dedicated drive) except for acoustics. The AAM of WD10EARS is set to 254 and WD's A/V dedicated drives are set to a quieter 128. You can use HDDSCAN to set the AAM of the WD10EARS to 128. The procedure is simple and outlined in the FAQ.

This might not be the right place to ask this, but I don't have hours to research the appropriate forum to ask this question...

I have my Tivo Series 3 open with the HD sitting in front of me, I also have a 1 TB drive to use as an upgrade. So i go to Mfslive.org to download the latest version of MFSlive and wouldn't you know it, the site is not working. Everytime i try to register i get:

An sql error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact an administrator if this problem persists.

So I can't download the zip file. I a asking if someone out there has a copy of Winmfs that i can get. otherwise my effort is in vain and i will have to put the unit back together until the site is back up. I can't find a 2nd site that has the file..

This might not be the right place to ask this, but I don't have hours to research the appropriate forum to ask this question...

I have my Tivo Series 3 open with the HD sitting in front of me, I also have a 1 TB drive to use as an upgrade. So i go to Mfslive.org to download the latest version of MFSlive and wouldn't you know it, the site is not working. Everytime i try to register i get:

An sql error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact an administrator if this problem persists.

So I can't download the zip file. I a asking if someone out there has a copy of Winmfs that i can get. otherwise my effort is in vain and i will have to put the unit back together until the site is back up. I can't find a 2nd site that has the file..

Someone please help if you can...

Thanks,

I'm already registered, downloaded it sometime back, and just now I got the same error message when I tried to see if I could get through, so it's probably just a temporary problem with the site itself.

I'm already registered, downloaded it sometime back, and just now I got the same error message when I tried to see if I could get through, so it's probably just a temporary problem with the site itself.